Councilor Rivera: “Thank you. So… you are the illustrious thief who stole fire from the gods, so to speak?”
Zheng: “Excuse me?”
Rivera: “Faster than Light magic. And yours is still active, after all this time.”
Zheng: “Ah, well, I did not steal this ship, if that’s what you were asking. I found it quite empty, and felt that passing up such an opportunity would be foolish.”
Rivera: “Hrmph. Say what you will.”
Zheng: “You say that my FTL enchantment is still active. Forgive me, but I haven’t had a lot of drives to compare with.”
Rivera: “You threaten me on behalf of an usurpation, and expect me to answer your questions?”
Zheng: “I am here on a humanitarian mission. Threatening you with an invasion force is merely the means. We are not actually allied with the Linked Systems, despite their best efforts.”
Rivera: “Well, I am glad for that. Our warmaster thinks that the usurpers would try to immediately destroy us, upon the opening of a Gateway. Did they tell you that, or did they just ask you to open up a gate?”
Zheng: “They told us that they would destroy you if… well, it was complicated and conditional. They have a lack of information. If a first strike would be ineffective, you having already mastered the free construction of FTL drives, able to produce them without alien help, then no, the genie is out of the bottle, and they may as well surrender. But that hasn’t happened, so far as we can see.”
Rivera: “So how do you feel about them attacking us indiscriminately? Our projects aren’t for an invasion force, it was for them to trigger a solar event to incinerate our part of the system entirely. Billions of dead.”
Zheng: “And if you invade the rest of the systems with your FTL technology?”
Rivera: “They have filled your head with lies. We have no intention of attacking. We are already the legitimate leaders of the Linked Systems, what do we have to gain? No, this current mess is because of you. Rather, because of this ship being stolen.”
Zheng: “Oh?”
Rivera: “Originally, we tried to suppress knowledge of the aliens and their magic until we could fully understand the implications for humanity. Keep humanity safe, until we could understand. If knowledge of aliens destabilized one planet into nuclear war, how much blood would be on our hands?”
Zheng: “Makes sense.”
Rivera: “And there is, of course, the question of diplomacy and our place in the universe. The slugs are part of a Coalition of Free Sentients, but the Coalition is losing. Their adversary is a hive-mind of magically linked individuals, bent on forcibly converting all sentients to be part of their collective, and subject to their collective will. Or so the slugs say. Humanity is closer to the Coalition, but we are also unable to do magic – the hivemind should have no interest in converting us.”
Zheng: “This is good for me to know. I think it would be in the best interests of everyone to provide my ship with a copy of all data on the political situation concerning the alien species. But you still have not explained.”
Rivera: “There is dissent within the Council on how to proceed. Can you imagine the dissent in the Linked Systems if it were known? Many of us, in fact, wanted to just sit on our discoveries forever, and avoid the upheaval that way.”
Zheng: “But then this ship got away.”
Rivera: “It did. We had the aliens swear to not give enchantments to any human faction until we had agreed on a course of action. But they did, or something like it. Off this ship went. We found the owner, a certain magnate, but he claimed to have bribed his way onto this planet alone. Instead, there must have been a stow-away on his ship…”
Zheng: “And then?”
Rivera: “And then we closed down the gates in a panic, afraid that said FTL ship would return fully crewed and with the backing of a rogue planet or two, or even just one of the larger interplanetary criminal syndicates. Once we had done that, we realized that it was, perhaps unwise, and that the rest of the Linked Systems would likely take it badly. Tell me, who spoke to you? Anastasia Volkova? I left her in charge. Or was it that dog Yang Shen, always trying to weasel his way into power?”
Zheng: “I… can’t say.”
Rivera: “Well, that is where we stand. Cut off from the rest of humanity until we can get the aliens to make an FTL drive. They made one for you, but, well, they do not seem inclined to make one for me. We have the original test ships, but those enchantments have all failed.”
Zheng: “I see. Well, I would like the Slug known as Myjer, and I will cause you no trouble.”
Rivera: “Maybe, but now you are involved. Can’t get away with just that anymore.”
Zheng: “You would prefer us to let the Gateway activate?”
Rivera: “You aren’t going to do that. You aren’t cold-blooded enough to cause the deaths of billions.”
Zheng: “Truly, it was for insurance, to make sure you did not destroy us. We were afraid you would dislike us for having FTL, and breaking your monopoly on alien technology.”
Rivera: “We are not all so petty as Yang Shen. He is in charge, I take it? I fear for Ana…”
Zheng: “I am glad you do not want to destroy us, then. But we still require Myjer.”
Rivera: “Do you? You say you were not here, and yet you know of the seer and you have a compulsion to help him.”
Zheng: “I can’t break confidences.”
Rivera: “Of course not, of course not. And we will give you Myjer. Our goals are not so different. I simply require your help in a few matters.”
Zheng: “What matters?”
Rivera: “First, you need to take a message to the Linked Systems that we are not hostile, and we have kept the gate closed because we do not all want to die. Do not tell it to just a messenger, I’m sure that Yang Shen will have no issues silencing such a messenger and killing us all when the gates open. Be sure that it gets to the auxiliary council and the government as a whole. Myjer should be able to use his Sending to notify us on what the auxiliary council thinks.”
Zheng: “That is possible.”
Rivera: “Second, we require that you do not reveal that you have Myjer to the greater Linked Systems during the above task, or they will surely find a way to kidnap him. We also need to be sure you will not sell him to the greater humanity.”
Zheng: “We are tasked with bringing him home to his people’s homeworld.”
Rivera: “I almost trust you.”
Zheng: “I promise you, we will do our best to bring him home.”
Rivera: “Now is not the time for promises. Third, you must bring a delegate of the Linked Systems Council to open negotiations with the Coalition, and another delegate to open negotiations with the hivemind, if you meet a connected individual.”
Zheng: “This seems reasonable.”
Rivera: “It is reasonable. But, alas, I do not trust you. I will require you, and your senior officers, to take magically binding oaths to do those three things. Then, and only then, will you have Myjer.”
Zheng: “I… I will have to consult with my crew.”
Rivera: “No doubt. I will be waiting.”
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